EIP Weekly Reads

Energy Impact Partners is a global investment platform leading the transition to a sustainable energy future. And we read a lot. Here are some of the key stories making the rounds with us this week.

• This isn't even my final form. Form Energy, a startup founded by Tesla alum focused on developing long-duration storage, has published a new whitepaper sketching out the analytical framework for evaluating the opportunities to replace peaker plants with storage.

• Storage, Storage, Storage. Hanwha Q Cells has purchased Geli, the storage software company, to go after the C&I market with more gusto. On the residential side, Generac has begun offering a whole-home backup solution via the electrical panel. Blackstone Energy bought NRStor C&I and has rebranded as Aypa Power with plans to keep pushing storage and renewables.

• We Rollin'. Sit back and relax, because the hot new thing in venture is rolling funds from AngelList Ventures, with some really talented VCs and operators launching new funds under this model. More on how they work here. Continuing the golden age for Founder resources there is also a great new guide from Steve Schlafman - the High Output Founders Library.

• Chart of the week goes to my colleague Shayle Kann for the climate tech hype cycle:

  

• Not to drone on, but. COVID becomes a tailwind for utility digitization in Europe, with more investment expected in drones and remote site visits.

• Ask not for whom the bell tolls. O&G majors have written down $87b hit on their assets since COVID hit (which for context is about the entire market cap of Starbucks). Meanwhile, coal generation is down 30% in the U.S.

• Climate risk actualized. CAISO claims the blackouts in California were driven by power plant shutdowns, low wind production, and lack of imports -- all overlaid by a massive heatwave. They have also suspended virtual bids for tomorrow. The California outages come shortly after the second largest outage in Northeast history, a massive derecho in Iowa leaving tens of thousands without power, and raging wildfires in Colorado.

• Other: Dreaming machines, name your clean energy startup, 5G gains steam, and decarbonizing through fungus.

Adam James is the Chief of Staff at Energy Impact Partners. You can follow him on Twitter here and sign up for these posts as a newsletter here.